The rain came in and out, all morning. It wouldn’t give up — like a beaten boxer that just keeps getting up.
Through the back-ends of Edgewater, Florida, Captain Randy Beach led his 27-foot Scout 170 Costa to waters that he knows like the streets of his childhood neighborhood — this is his home. Capt. Beach has lived in this area all of his life. Since 2002, Capt. Beach has ran Hook-N-Reds Guide Service. He knows the spots and techniques to have a sure-fire time catching fish. In these waters, gator trout and reds strike. These fish aren’t lazy, and don’t waddle towards bait — these fish have force behind them.
Capt. Beach searched for trout near the edge of the pools that gather in the creeks. He has three tactics that he abides by that could help others in pursuit of trout and reds.
Stay quiet. Be as silent as possible and tread lightly while on the boat. These fish can be easily spooked with just a step.
When using live bait, Capt. Beach prefers finger mullet. He freelines them and recommends to just let’em run free. For artificial, he goes for a MirrOlure He Dog. This lure makes a good amount of noise to get the trout out of their little crevices on the floor.
As far as conditions, he prefers it to be a bit choppy, so trout and reds don’t get as easily spooked as they do with calm flat waters.
Even though these are his three top tactics, Capt. Beach had other tips up his sleeve. When fishing for reds during calm waters, he looks for that flying-V wave that breaks out on the surface. These are pods of reds. Aim a foot or two in front of the tip of that V, and as soon as a nudge happens crack the rod back to set the hook.
With trout, it seems like a waiting game. Just let that finger mullet do its work and hold on for that explosion when the trout hammers down. Trout are not as wily as reds. Trout take convincing. Reds take bait.
